Saturday, 26 May 2012

Well this is just a quickie post , after doing all my chores and painting our front door today I decided to take some time out and sit in the sun . I've been toying with the idea for some time now of doing a stash buster project , not sure whether it will be a blanket or a bag . But in any case I thought it might be nice to sit and play with a few yarns and do some crochet . I looked at quite a few books and patterns for inspiration and not a single one hit the spot . So I sat and made it up , I knew I wanted a circle in a square and this is what I've come up with and I sure it won't be an original idea , I'm sure someone somewhere has done something similar. But I am quite proud of the fact that I worked something out in crochet without following a pattern . I'm also going for colour combinations that are out of my usual colour pallet . I want vivid colour and I think i may go for a black boarder around each square . Ooooo I'm a little excited about my new sqaures .

Friday, 25 May 2012

Well another week has passed me by , unfortunatley I've had a bout of illness this week .I had a couple of days off of work but spent my time either sleeping or pottering very slowly !! I normally don't do ill or slow but I had no choice this time . Although I have missed some glorious and much welcome sunshine , I did find time yesterday and this morning to do a little pottering in my garden and yard . I've had to go slow and not wanting to totally miss out on the fantastic sunshine , I have tried to spend time in the wonderfully therapeutic heat of the sun . I got myself comfty with a nice cold drink and the radio playing in the background and observed all the wonderful colours and texture that are starting to develop in my little back yard and small front garden . So often lately I've not had time to sit and just spend time looking and appreciating the enviroment I live in . The greens are becoming lush now , the different textures are building up with the occasional hit of vibrant colour from spring flowers . So here's a look at my small scale Eden !!

These are the plants that live on the shady side of the yard , this is my favourite spot in the back at the moment !!

This is life so far this spring in the sunny front garden !!

Life in the garden is progressing nicely and with the heat were having things should come on leaps and bounds now . I have also come to realise it should not take a bout of illness to make me slow down , I need time out every so often to just sit and kick back !!

Friday, 18 May 2012

Well what a wonderful start to the day , I took delivery of two parcels this morning .One totally unexpected the other anticipated .The first from Australia was totally out of the blue , I checked the senders address and recognised it . It was from the lovely winner of Hannabelle Cordelia Hare , it was Sam at Ryemilan's Ramblings a very talented Lady who lives down under .

I was totally overcome with excitement , so I carefully opened the box . I don't usually like surprises but I was enjoying this one !!

I couldn't believe it , it was one of Sam's beautifully handmade cards . I was quite giddy at this point so I sat and read her lovely message then continued carefully unpacking the box .

Look what the lovely lady has sent as a thank you , how kind and thoughtful !!! A kookaburra which my youngest son has added to his family of stuffed toy birds ( he has a Mallard Duck , A Humming Bird , Owls , and a House Sparrow and now a Kookaburra ). Also a pack of pencils as well as one of Sam's Beautifully made Sun catcher . Check out the beautiful detail on this glass .

I am going to have to find a very special place for this , I can't wait to see the sun light bounce of the glass and crystals !!! Sam also makes some beautiful glass beaded jewellery (and sun catchers ) check her out she has lot's of creative stuff on the go !!! As well as being a big hearted generous Lady , thank you Sam and I'm so glad Hannabelle Likes her new home and family.

Then whilst talking to a friend in our very small front garden the post lady pasted me a purple package , ooohhh two parcels in one day how lucky am I !!!!. Once inside I dashed upstairs with camera in hand to the best light in the house to open my eagerly anticipated parcel . It didn't disappoint take a look !!

I won this superbly knitted bag a week ago on a yarntastic blog called Fleur Cotton , I was quite gob smacked when I found out I had won her lovely creation ,the knitting and detail are beautifully executed and it is lined with such a sweet little floral print . When I entered the give away on fleurs blog I had a little lady in mind who I know would love this and she will be receiving it very soon .It was quite a morning , but then I had to put all the excitement aside and go to work !!!

However this evening I have been playing with my new printer , I was so pleased with my photo's of my threads spools I thought they would look good blown up and framed . I have a very bare wall at the top of the first floor stairs which needs some images to create some intrest !!! So I have blown them up to A4 size prints and they look quite good just need some frames now !! Maybe that will be tomorrows little mission !!

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Well where has the last week gone ?? what about the weather as well !! Rain rain go away come back another day ! ( not come back every single day !!) . If I'm not at work , which is more often than I would like at the moment . I'm sheltering in the house from the atrocious weather . For this reason I thought I would share with you some images of what I like to surround myself with at home . As you can imagine I have quite a lot of textile related paraphernalia . Some of which I have inherited and some I have bought . I absolutely adore these wooden spools of thread which I inherited from my husbands great Aunt . She was born in about 1910 and sewed all her life , I treasure these spools and occasionally I will use some of the thread , it really excites me to think that as I snap a piece of thread off with the spool cupped in hand I am doing exactly as she did many many many years ago . I think some of the spools may even date from the 30's and 40's , looking at the letter types on the beautifully aged labels . The wood has a well used patination to it and they are so tactile . I soooo wish they still made wooden spools like this instead of plastic ones ,

Other things I like and have about my home on display are items from the old wool industry , which used to thrive in Yorkshire . My family for generations have had some connection with textiles , my mum , grandma and great grandma were all spinners and weavers . My mum went into the wool mills of Bradford at age 15. My mum and I are tracing our family history and we have found that one line of her maternal line were frame work stocking knitters right back into the eighteenth century . So I think it's safe to say that textiles is in my blood !!!

These shuttles hang in my hall way and I have the pleasure of looking at them everyday , they are beautiful things to hold . How many hands have these touched , the stories they could tell from the textile mills of Lancashire .

I found these spools at a local old mill which used to spin wool but now sell outdoor clothing and wool . Some needed a serious clean to get a lot of grease off , but a bit of wire wool and bees wax brought them up a treat !!! I actually use them as candle holders in my living room .

These items are all very humble in origin but for their different reasons give me a great deal of pleasure to have and to use in my life .
I have managed a bit of sewing over the last week , not as much as I would have liked .The hares are back in production and the tree cushion I'm doing is progressing nicely !! So here's a bit of a peek .

Monday, 7 May 2012

Well at 8.15 this mornng whilst still n my P.j's I went under the eve's to my newly created work area .The early morning light was fantastic!! I opened the velux window and could hear the birds heartily chirping . I settled into my chair and began to sew , I was quite at peace sat there bathed in sunlight with a slight breeze on my back , listening to our neighbourhood coming to life . I could smell a neighbour cooking bacon for breakfast , I could hear the chink of crockery and the clatter of cutlery and the gentle murmur of conversation's going on in kitchens . At that mment I was truly blissful and so glad I moved my studio under the eve's!

The view from my work area .

Being bathed in sunlight whilst sewing , delightful!!

I have had a really productive day ,made real progress with my tree cushion , I wish I'd have thought of moving sooner !! Tomorrow I'm back to work but I might manage a bit of sewing in the morning before I go .

This evening is my Monday Crochet group , it's at a freinds house tonight I' m taking this little lady with me as I want to come up with an idea for a crocheted dress . This is the basic body of my Christmas Angel I make , It's wings are needle felted and this one has Liberty Lawn legs and is not destind for Chritmas but an all year round Angel . She is a bit of a work i progress ( gosh I have so many of those at the moment !!).

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Well it's been over a week since I last posted , the extra hours I'm working for the next few weeks are really starting to play havoc with my life , I'm pretty much behind with everything .I'm behind on the house work , my sewing and blogging !!!
But on the bright side it's the Bank Holiday weekend !! wahay . I have hit the weekend with real gusto , I woke this morning with serious energy to clean and organise . By 9.am my eldest sons bedroom was cleaned , hoovered and bedding changed . Then I came out of his room to tackle my studio area, this is situated under the stairs to the master bedroom . Then an idea hit me , why don't I move my studio up to the master bedroom under the eves as the light is so good up there . The light evenings are progressing and I would have fantastic light for sewing up there , so I set too and here is the result . A day of re-organising my stuff has been hard work but I've enjoyed it . I also cleaned our room as well , killed two birds with one stone .

I do love our bedroom , I find it sooo Tranquil up there . It's one of my favourite rooms in our humble home ! Especially when it's had a good clean and the bed has been made up with freshly ironed bed linen . AAhhh bliss !!

So I am looking forward to using my new space , as you can see from the pictures the light just floods in . It was amazing looking at things that I've not seen for a while . That's one good thing about re-organising you rediscover projects and items ( In my case my wool stash ) that have been packed away and forgotten about . I found these wrist warmers I was going to make for spring . Now that we are in spring I think I should finish them , particularly as it doesn't seem to be warming up much !!

One other bit of news is that Hanabelle Cordelia Hare has arrived at her new home in Australia . She was a little jet lagged but is settling in nicely with her new family . Unfortunatley I cannot upload the picture Sam sent me of Hannabelle but If you pay Sam a visit at Ryemilan's Ramblings you'll be able to see Hannabelle taking it easy as well as Sam's creative collages , she has such a fun blog full of creativity !
So thanks for popping by and I hope you have a brilliant weekend whatever your up to !!

MY SHOP

About Me

Hi I'm Tracy ,I'm a true Yorkshire lass that lives in the gate way to the Dales . My life pretty much revolves around my family ( 2 boys & husband ) and Textiles . There isn't a day goes by that I'm not working on something either sewn , quilted , appliqued, knitted or crocheted. I'm hoping one day I can make a living out of my creations. Follow me on my journey and maybe I can share with you my ideas and inspirations .

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Copyright

I am happy to be sharing with you the things that inspire me as well as my ideas/designs and creations . I hope in turn they give you a burst of inspiration or a spark of an idea . But please ask my permission before using my images . Please please do not copy my designs and creations for financial gain .Please respect my copyright as I respect yours . I am a very approachable person and If you have any queries please get in touch . Thankyou